musky

Question
I was with my friend up at Lake Ontario(on New York's side). My friend and i found a large pond right next to the lake and were fishing for large mouth bass with spoons when he caught a musky. We both switched to larger spoons(little cleo's) and I caught a larger muskey that broke my 12lb line next to the bank. we were fishing near weeds and lily pads. What is the best line,what lures,and ounces should i use.

 Alex,

Answer
Greetings,

My guess as to why the musky broke your friends line was because he wasn't using a steel leader, muskies have very sharp teeth that are no match for regular lines. Don't be fooled by what you may hear, spoons are great musky catchers, if the weeds are on the thicker side try Johnson Silver Minnows with a Twister Tail. The "best line" that I would recommend is Spiderwire Stealth in 85# for traditional bait casters and a lighter pound for spinning or bass bait casters. The zero stretch of the new super braids really helps at driving the hooks home when you get one to bite. As far as lure suggestions go, the other thing I would try are bucktails, Mepps Musky Killers, Rizzo Trophy Tails are just a couple of the too many to even try to list that are great.

The most important thing is that you handle the fish as best as possible. Get a big, good net like a Frabill, hook cutters and extra long nose pliers. Keep your catch in the water as much as posible when un hooking. Best rule of thumb is to not have them out of the water any longer then you can hold your breath. Warmer temps mean you have to be even more careful. MOST OF ALL REMEMBER TO LET THEM ALL GO SO YOU AND YOURS CAN ENJOY CATCHING THEM AGAIN WHEN THEY ARE BIGGER!

Hook Em' Hard,
Joe